Aliens
by DaniPhantomFan
Summary: A fifteen year old girl from the planet of Djimi travels to Earth to study how they differ from her people.
1. Chapter 1

_**Aliens**_

"There is a world known as Earth," I said, as the young children scooted closer to the fire, eager to hear my story. "The planet is 5.6 billion years old, and it floats in the great galaxy known as the Milky Way. There are many lands on the planet Earth, but the one land I am going to tell you about tonight is the land known as North America."

"My sister, Dyakuscha, translated as Diamond in the language of the Earthlings, traveled there when she was very young, to study the behavior of the planet's people. Her mission was to study them so that she could learn about them. We could have picked any planet for her to study, but Earth interested us most."

One of the boys asked, "Why did the study of Earth interest you so, Sina?" I smiled. "That is a very good question," I replied. "You see, we are very much like Earthlings. Not only do we look similar to them, but we have many of the same customs and ideas and traditions that they do on their planet."

"My sister's mission was to study them, to find out how they differed from us." A girl sitting next to me asked, "Where is your sister now?" I paused, wondering if it was a good idea to tell them. "Dyakuscha is no longer with us. She is not dead, though."

A girl named Bjak asked, "Tell us the story of what happened to your sister, please, Sina?" I sighed, and nodded. The children cheered, and then settled down to hear my story.

I stood alone in the hot sun, waiting impatiently for the transport to show up. I turned to Sina, who was staring at a small screen, watching images of Earth flash by. "This one is an old castle in the land known as Scotland," my sister said, stopping the screen so we could get a clearer view of the pictures.

"And this one is a giant house in North America called the White House. The Earthlings believe that their leader lives there." We both laughed at the idea. "Maybe I don't need to go there after all," I half-joked. "I can just learn from these pictures!" Sina nodded.

"What a ridiculous idea, having a ruler in a free land. What makes this person a ruler? Because they live in a grand place with many dollars and a whole army at their command? Anyone can have that. Being a ruler does not make you special on our planet."

I nodded eagerly. I talked with my sister for a little bit longer, before the transport landed. I sighed in relief. "At last, it is here," I said. "My feet were getting tired of standing underneath the hot sun." As I boarded, I turned for one last look at my sister, who was smiling and waving.

I waved back slowly, then faced front and walked into the cool air of the transport ship. The landing gear immediately retreated into the ship's bottom and it rose up into the air, doing a slow circle before tilting upward and shooting off into the sky. By this time I was belted in and enjoying a small snack.

"So, Dyakuscha," said the man sitting across from me. "In about three days Earth time, we will be landing in the small area of land known as…" he quickly checked his portable Universal Locations screen, "North Carolina. There an undercover alien guide will be quickly escorting you to the temporary room called…a hotel."

I nodded. "After you get some rest, we will be expecting you to do some studying on the differences between us and them. That means you have to observe. You can also ask the natives, but try not to sound like you've no idea what they do on their planet. Take your short knowledge of the traditions and beliefs of the natives of Earth, and…well, just sound like a curious passer-by."

"Of course," I replied, biting into the sweet food known as _Belinga _on my planet. The food resembles beef, but tastes like chocolate. The man pulled out his jar of _Triji_, a drink that looks like water, but tastes like the drink that the older person drinks in the early hours of the day.

"Since it will be three days before we arrive on Earth, I suggest you go ahead and explore the transport," the man said, closing his eyes and putting his feet on the small table in front of him. I nodded and got up, walking over to a row of doors at the far end of the hallway.

I read the signs on the doors aloud. "Dining hall, bunks, meeting room, cleaning closet…" I decided to check out the bunks. As soon as I opened the door, a loud crashing noise came from one of the far bunks, and I briefly spotted a black thing slipping over the side of a bunk.

I called out softly, "Hello?" There was no answer except the quick movement of the black thing again. This time it was slipping behind one of the clothes racks on the left of me. I took a few slow steps into the room, and the door slammed behind me.

Now I was a little bit nervous, but I continued into the room anyway. Suddenly a young girl, about eleven years old, dashed in front of me. She was wearing a black _cokr_ jacket, which explained the black thing I had seen slipping about the room a few minutes ago.

She grinned up at me. "My name's Bodi," she said. "I'm a director's assistant, which means I help fly the transport ship. Is there anything I can help you with, lady?" I thought for a minute. "Well, not at the moment, Bodi," I said. She nodded and was about to say something else when a strange looking object on her leg beeped loudly.

Bodi paled. "I gotta go. My boss wants to see me. Catch ya later." Then she pushed open the door and disappeared. Deciding that the bunks were of no interest to me, I went back outside. "I'm feeling a little starved," I muttered to myself. "Let's see what the dining hall has to offer."

I opened the door, and the delicious smell of _Kitja _(a similar version of Earth's turkey) greeted me. I went inside, looking around for the source of the smell. "Oh, hello, dear," said an elderly woman a few feet away from me. She was stirring the pot of _Kitja _along with a few other good things.

"Lunch is almost ready, but this is for the main crowd. I suggest you tell me what you want and we can come behind the cooker and chat, alright?" I know that people are not that friendly on Earth, but I am from the planet of Djimi, and the behavior is different here.

I nodded. "You're Djimi material, aren't you?" the woman asked, studying me. I nodded again, and she smiled. "Well, welcome then! I always look favorably to anyone from Djimi, as I was born there and spent many of my best childhood years there. There will always be a special place in my heart for that wonderful planet."

"But what are you doing on the transport? You're a young lady now; you should be preparing yourself for admittance to the High Court." I took a second to respond, as I was getting more starved. "I know, but my father is the High Head of the program, and he decided to send me off to Earth instead. He said it would be a good lesson for me to learn."

The elderly person grinned. "I see. You have a very caring father! He must have thought you were well-developed enough to face the dangers of the mighty cosmos alone. Not very many young ladies get that opportunity, you know." Then she paused, and studied me again.

"How old are you, dear?" she asked, stirring the _Kitja _hard. "I just became fifteen a week ago." The old woman smiled. "You're just the right age, then. Do you have any siblings?" I nodded. "Yes, I have a 12 year old sister named Sina. She was the one who saw me off."

The woman nodded happily. "You know, I had a sister your age once. She was quite the brilliant one. Mother always preferred her over me. I was never jealous, though. No one born on Djimi is ever jealous of a favored sibling. I was worried for her, though."

"When she turned fifteen, Mother sent her off to Earth to study the native people, just like you. All was successful for a few months, until the people from Earth called terrorists, flew transports into two buildings. My sister, Nyka, was in the second building. The buildings fell, and so did Nyka."

After a minute, I realized what the old one was saying. "You mean…she's gone?" The old woman nodded slowly. "Yes. My dear sister Nyka, dead and buried on an alien planet…far from her real home. It was quite heartbreaking to me and Mother."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I whispered, but the woman waved it off. "Don't be. What's done is done, and we can't help Nyka by looking back-only by moving forward." Just then a buzzing sound filled the room, and the woman stopped stirring. "Well, that's the main lunch bell. Better come back here, dear, before you get trampled to death."

I did so, right as the doors burst open and a thousand screaming, yelling children stormed into the room. Now I was happy to have moved behind the tabletop before this happened. The woman smacked a titanium pipe on a metal pot, getting the children's attention.

"Today will be _caeka _soup, _ghito _soup and a dessert of _koma ju degri_." The children yelled happily and went to their tables, bringing out the appropriate utensils for the meal. Then the woman guided me behind the cooker and to a small, rough steel table.

"Now, child, tell me your story so far. What are you hoping to accomplish on Earth?" "I'm supposed to study the Earth natives and find out how they differ from us. Since we're already so similar, this is going to be quite fun to do." The elderly person nodded.

Just then my stomach rumbled, and the woman looked a little surprised. "Why, child, you never told me you were starving! Here, I will get you some _Kitja _soup. It is your favorite, right?" she asked, looking back. I nodded, and she hummed to herself, disappearing behind the cooker.

Suddenly Bodi shot up from the woman's chair, looking excited. "Hey, lady! You were hungry too, huh? Well, I'm _always _hungry. Sorry I had to run off earlier, my boss wanted me to adjust some landing controls for practice. Nothing major this time."

Then she noticed the woman was missing. "Hey, where's Luti? She's always here during lunch. I like that lady, she keeps me company." Bodi slipped into Luti's chair, and studied the surface of the table for a minute before asking, "Hey, what's your name?"

I smiled. "I'm Dyakuscha," I replied. "Well, what are you here on this ship for?" I sighed. "I'm going to Earth to study the natives and find out how they differ from us." Bodi grinned and did a cartwheel. "You are? That's excellent! You know, I'm a native to Earth, maybe I can help you."

"Sure, that'd be great," I said. Bodi's smile grew even wider. "But first," I said. "We're going to have to find out how you got on this transport." Bodi's mouth twisted up into a strange frown, and then she said, "Well…it's a long story. You see, my mother was a space traveler. She flew to all sorts of different galaxies, discovering new worlds."

"I know most people on Earth want to conquer all the new worlds, but that's not what my mother wanted. She wanted to make contact with these foreign worlds, so that them and Earth could become useful allies. She taught them our language so we could communicate better."

"At first, my mother's work was done in secret, supported by an unknown group that was once part of NASA but had rebelled and broken off from the space program years ago, when it was brand-new. But someone must have been a spy, because soon my mother was immediately arrested upon return to Earth from your planet, Djimi, and put in the government's jail for many years."

"My father escaped with me onto a private space shuttle that my mother's group had provided for us, and we flew all the way to Djimi, since the memory of my mother's recent departure was still fresh in their minds. As predicted, they welcomed us with joy."

"Even though I was born on Earth, I was raised on Djimi, until a few years ago. When I was eight, living peacefully in the countryside of Djimi, somehow the government of the USA found us again. They raided our house and killed my father, but not before I had been taken aboard this transport, where the captain took pity on me and made me his assistant, which I've been doing for the last 3 years."

When Bodi finished, I was stunned speechless. "That's quite an amazing story," I said at last. "Indeed it is," said Luti's voice from behind the cooker. "Thank goodness you finished your tale right as I was finishing pouring this _Kitja _into bowls," the woman said with a hint of amusement.

The young girl giggled and playfully poked Luti as she sat down. "Oh, Luti, you have such a good sense of humor," Bodi said. "Why, thank you, dear," the old woman replied, smiling. Just then the same man who greeted me ran into the room, panting.

"Dyakuscha, your mission awaits," he finally said. I looked at him, a bit confused. "Surely it hasn't been three days Earth time already," I said. He shook his head. "Three days is Earth time. On this transport it usually takes an hour or two to reach Earth, and we've already done several space-jumps since we took off."

I nodded, understanding. I looked back at Luti and Bodi, who were staring at me with worry. Luti put a hand on my shoulder. "Just be safe on the planet, dear," she whispered. "The natives can be very violent and very reckless." Bodi wrapped her arms around me.

"If you see my mother, tell her hi for me," the young girl muttered into my thick blonde hair. I nodded. "I'll see you in six months Earth time," I said, bidding them farewell. Then I followed the man out of the dining hall and back to the exit/entrance area.

"In about five minutes we will have landed in North Carolina and you will begin your mission," he said firmly. "Yes," I replied. I began to go through my possessions bag, reorganizing the few things I had on me. Finally the man said, "It is time, Dyakuscha."

The landing gear extended as we gently touched down on Earth, and the door opened. What I saw before me took my breath away. I know I've seen pictures of Earth before, but that cannot tell you what is like to breathe their air, walk on their grass and physically stare at the monuments of their honored people.

I had just stepped off the bridgeway when Luti and Bodi appeared at the open entrance, waving. Of course, the entire ship was invisible, and we were behind a large steel wall, so no one noticed. Bodi yelled over the wind, "Good luck, Dyakuscha! Have fun on my planet!"

Luti was about to say something, but the bridgeway closed before the words left her mouth. The transport pulled in its landing gear and lifted into the air, wind blowing all around it. It heated up its engine before shooting off into the sky. I took a deep breath and turned around.

I was on my own, now. Luckily I had enough of the Earth dollars to get me a night at a hotel. "Tomorrow I shall begin my mission. But now, I need to rest." So I walked up the stairs and down a hallway before coming into my room. When I turned the light on, everything was perfectly clean.

The beds had been made, everything was polished and dusted, and there was some of the hotel food in the freezer. "This will do for now," I said, before pulling on more comfortable clothes for night and slipping under the sheets of the bed. "Hmm," I whispered to myself. "These sheets are gold, an interesting color."

Then I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the sun was shining right in my eyes. At least, they would be if the shades were open. I got out of bed and went into the food area, opening the freezer to grab a jar of cold cream. "I believe the natives here would call it ice cream," I said to myself, before taking the lid off and eating it.

Once I had fed myself, remade the bed and fixed up my hair, teeth and clothes, I was ready to go. "Okay, Dyakuscha. First thing, you need a new name if you want to blend in. Hmm…what does Dyakuscha translate into in the Earth language?" Then it came to me, from an old Earth lesson I had years ago.

"Of course," I said. "It means Diamond. So that shall be my name until I leave for Djimi." Then I continued out the door, remembering to secure the handle with the card I had received last night. When I had exited the building, the first thing I encountered was a thief running with a bag full of stolen jewels.

He ran right past me, never even bothering to look behind him. I began to chase after him. He didn't notice me coming up behind him until it was too late. I grabbed him, slamming his head into a post and knocking him unconscious. I tied his hands to the post, using some of the special, unbreakable rope I had brought with me.

The law enforcers showed up pretty quickly, but I had already taken off. I didn't want to be noticed, especially by law enforcers. After a while of running, I dashed around a corner into an alleyway. I thought I was safe, at first. But a low scraping sound coming from the end of the alley had me really nervous.

"Yo, girl," a deep voice said from the darkness. "Come here." I replied, "Or what?" The voice didn't respond, but a second later a brown hand wrapped around my mouth and another hand pulled my hands together, holding them that way so I couldn't move.

"Hey, Joe, take her belt off," the deep voice ordered. A minute later a pure white hand reached around and yanked my belt off. "We ain't gonna hurt you girl, we just want your money. So hand it over or Joe there will beat you." Apparently I was too slow to respond, because a second later my belt lashed out across my forehead.

"Maybe beating doesn't work on a little girl like you…" the voice muttered. "Take her pants off, and her underwear." Now I knew I was in serious trouble. So I bit my captor's hand and he let go, shrieking in pain. Then I flipped my other captor over my head and he slammed into the ground.

I ran past the pale man, snatching my belt along the way. They shouted and began to chase after me, but I ignored them. I knew this was my lucky day to have a good report. Turns out the natives are a lot different from us than we thought. On Djimi, we don't beat or capture people for their worth. We don't steal because we don't have anything. If we don't have something, we work for it.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Aliens**_

"There is a world known as Earth," I said, as the young children scooted closer to the fire, eager to hear my story. "The planet is 5.6 billion years old, and it floats in the great galaxy known as the Milky Way. There are many lands on the planet Earth, but the one land I am going to tell you about tonight is the land known as North America."

"My sister, Dyakuscha, translated as Diamond in the language of the Earthlings, traveled there when she was very young, to study the behavior of the planet's people. Her mission was to study them so that she could learn about them. We could have picked any planet for her to study, but Earth interested us most."

One of the boys asked, "Why did the study of Earth interest you so, Sina?" I smiled. "That is a very good question," I replied. "You see, we are very much like Earthlings. Not only do we look similar to them, but we have many of the same customs and ideas and traditions that they do on their planet."

"My sister's mission was to study them, to find out how they differed from us." A girl sitting next to me asked, "Where is your sister now?" I paused, wondering if it was a good idea to tell them. "Dyakuscha is no longer with us. She is not dead, though."

A girl named Bjak asked, "Tell us the story of what happened to your sister, please, Sina?" I sighed, and nodded. The children cheered, and then settled down to hear my story.

I stood alone in the hot sun, waiting impatiently for the transport to show up. I turned to Sina, who was staring at a small screen, watching images of Earth flash by. "This one is an old castle in the land known as Scotland," my sister said, stopping the screen so we could get a clearer view of the pictures.

"And this one is a giant house in North America called the White House. The Earthlings believe that their leader lives there." We both laughed at the idea. "Maybe I don't need to go there after all," I half-joked. "I can just learn from these pictures!" Sina nodded.

"What a ridiculous idea, having a ruler in a free land. What makes this person a ruler? Because they live in a grand place with many dollars and a whole army at their command? Anyone can have that. Being a ruler does not make you special on our planet."

I nodded eagerly. I talked with my sister for a little bit longer, before the transport landed. I sighed in relief. "At last, it is here," I said. "My feet were getting tired of standing underneath the hot sun." As I boarded, I turned for one last look at my sister, who was smiling and waving.

I waved back slowly, then faced front and walked into the cool air of the transport ship. The landing gear immediately retreated into the ship's bottom and it rose up into the air, doing a slow circle before tilting upward and shooting off into the sky. By this time I was belted in and enjoying a small snack.

"So, Dyakuscha," said the man sitting across from me. "In about three days Earth time, we will be landing in the small area of land known as…" he quickly checked his portable Universal Locations screen, "North Carolina. There an undercover alien guide will be quickly escorting you to the temporary room called…a hotel."

I nodded. "After you get some rest, we will be expecting you to do some studying on the differences between us and them. That means you have to observe. You can also ask the natives, but try not to sound like you've no idea what they do on their planet. Take your short knowledge of the traditions and beliefs of the natives of Earth, and…well, just sound like a curious passer-by."

"Of course," I replied, biting into the sweet food known as _Belinga _on my planet. The food resembles beef, but tastes like chocolate. The man pulled out his jar of _Triji_, a drink that looks like water, but tastes like the drink that the older person drinks in the early hours of the day.

"Since it will be three days before we arrive on Earth, I suggest you go ahead and explore the transport," the man said, closing his eyes and putting his feet on the small table in front of him. I nodded and got up, walking over to a row of doors at the far end of the hallway.

I read the signs on the doors aloud. "Dining hall, bunks, meeting room, cleaning closet…" I decided to check out the bunks. As soon as I opened the door, a loud crashing noise came from one of the far bunks, and I briefly spotted a black thing slipping over the side of a bunk.

I called out softly, "Hello?" There was no answer except the quick movement of the black thing again. This time it was slipping behind one of the clothes racks on the left of me. I took a few slow steps into the room, and the door slammed behind me.

Now I was a little bit nervous, but I continued into the room anyway. Suddenly a young girl, about eleven years old, dashed in front of me. She was wearing a black _cokr_ jacket, which explained the black thing I had seen slipping about the room a few minutes ago.

She grinned up at me. "My name's Bodi," she said. "I'm a director's assistant, which means I help fly the transport ship. Is there anything I can help you with, lady?" I thought for a minute. "Well, not at the moment, Bodi," I said. She nodded and was about to say something else when a strange looking object on her leg beeped loudly.

Bodi paled. "I gotta go. My boss wants to see me. Catch ya later." Then she pushed open the door and disappeared. Deciding that the bunks were of no interest to me, I went back outside. "I'm feeling a little starved," I muttered to myself. "Let's see what the dining hall has to offer."

I opened the door, and the delicious smell of _Kitja _(a similar version of Earth's turkey) greeted me. I went inside, looking around for the source of the smell. "Oh, hello, dear," said an elderly woman a few feet away from me. She was stirring the pot of _Kitja _along with a few other good things.

"Lunch is almost ready, but this is for the main crowd. I suggest you tell me what you want and we can come behind the cooker and chat, alright?" I know that people are not that friendly on Earth, but I am from the planet of Djimi, and the behavior is different here.

I nodded. "You're Djimi material, aren't you?" the woman asked, studying me. I nodded again, and she smiled. "Well, welcome then! I always look favorably to anyone from Djimi, as I was born there and spent many of my best childhood years there. There will always be a special place in my heart for that wonderful planet."

"But what are you doing on the transport? You're a young lady now; you should be preparing yourself for admittance to the High Court." I took a second to respond, as I was getting more starved. "I know, but my father is the High Head of the program, and he decided to send me off to Earth instead. He said it would be a good lesson for me to learn."

The elderly person grinned. "I see. You have a very caring father! He must have thought you were well-developed enough to face the dangers of the mighty cosmos alone. Not very many young ladies get that opportunity, you know." Then she paused, and studied me again.

"How old are you, dear?" she asked, stirring the _Kitja _hard. "I just became fifteen a week ago." The old woman smiled. "You're just the right age, then. Do you have any siblings?" I nodded. "Yes, I have a 12 year old sister named Sina. She was the one who saw me off."

The woman nodded happily. "You know, I had a sister your age once. She was quite the brilliant one. Mother always preferred her over me. I was never jealous, though. No one born on Djimi is ever jealous of a favored sibling. I was worried for her, though."

"When she turned fifteen, Mother sent her off to Earth to study the native people, just like you. All was successful for a few months, until the people from Earth called terrorists, flew transports into two buildings. My sister, Nyka, was in the second building. The buildings fell, and so did Nyka."

After a minute, I realized what the old one was saying. "You mean…she's gone?" The old woman nodded slowly. "Yes. My dear sister Nyka, dead and buried on an alien planet…far from her real home. It was quite heartbreaking to me and Mother."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I whispered, but the woman waved it off. "Don't be. What's done is done, and we can't help Nyka by looking back-only by moving forward." Just then a buzzing sound filled the room, and the woman stopped stirring. "Well, that's the main lunch bell. Better come back here, dear, before you get trampled to death."

I did so, right as the doors burst open and a thousand screaming, yelling children stormed into the room. Now I was happy to have moved behind the tabletop before this happened. The woman smacked a titanium pipe on a metal pot, getting the children's attention.

"Today will be _caeka _soup, _ghito _soup and a dessert of _koma ju degri_." The children yelled happily and went to their tables, bringing out the appropriate utensils for the meal. Then the woman guided me behind the cooker and to a small, rough steel table.

"Now, child, tell me your story so far. What are you hoping to accomplish on Earth?" "I'm supposed to study the Earth natives and find out how they differ from us. Since we're already so similar, this is going to be quite fun to do." The elderly person nodded.

Just then my stomach rumbled, and the woman looked a little surprised. "Why, child, you never told me you were starving! Here, I will get you some _Kitja _soup. It is your favorite, right?" she asked, looking back. I nodded, and she hummed to herself, disappearing behind the cooker.

Suddenly Bodi shot up from the woman's chair, looking excited. "Hey, lady! You were hungry too, huh? Well, I'm _always _hungry. Sorry I had to run off earlier, my boss wanted me to adjust some landing controls for practice. Nothing major this time."

Then she noticed the woman was missing. "Hey, where's Luti? She's always here during lunch. I like that lady, she keeps me company." Bodi slipped into Luti's chair, and studied the surface of the table for a minute before asking, "Hey, what's your name?"

I smiled. "I'm Dyakuscha," I replied. "Well, what are you here on this ship for?" I sighed. "I'm going to Earth to study the natives and find out how they differ from us." Bodi grinned and did a cartwheel. "You are? That's excellent! You know, I'm a native to Earth, maybe I can help you."

"Sure, that'd be great," I said. Bodi's smile grew even wider. "But first," I said. "We're going to have to find out how you got on this transport." Bodi's mouth twisted up into a strange frown, and then she said, "Well…it's a long story. You see, my mother was a space traveler. She flew to all sorts of different galaxies, discovering new worlds."

"I know most people on Earth want to conquer all the new worlds, but that's not what my mother wanted. She wanted to make contact with these foreign worlds, so that them and Earth could become useful allies. She taught them our language so we could communicate better."

"At first, my mother's work was done in secret, supported by an unknown group that was once part of NASA but had rebelled and broken off from the space program years ago, when it was brand-new. But someone must have been a spy, because soon my mother was immediately arrested upon return to Earth from your planet, Djimi, and put in the government's jail for many years."

"My father escaped with me onto a private space shuttle that my mother's group had provided for us, and we flew all the way to Djimi, since the memory of my mother's recent departure was still fresh in their minds. As predicted, they welcomed us with joy."

"Even though I was born on Earth, I was raised on Djimi, until a few years ago. When I was eight, living peacefully in the countryside of Djimi, somehow the government of the USA found us again. They raided our house and killed my father, but not before I had been taken aboard this transport, where the captain took pity on me and made me his assistant, which I've been doing for the last 3 years."

When Bodi finished, I was stunned speechless. "That's quite an amazing story," I said at last. "Indeed it is," said Luti's voice from behind the cooker. "Thank goodness you finished your tale right as I was finishing pouring this _Kitja _into bowls," the woman said with a hint of amusement.

The young girl giggled and playfully poked Luti as she sat down. "Oh, Luti, you have such a good sense of humor," Bodi said. "Why, thank you, dear," the old woman replied, smiling. Just then the same man who greeted me ran into the room, panting.

"Dyakuscha, your mission awaits," he finally said. I looked at him, a bit confused. "Surely it hasn't been three days Earth time already," I said. He shook his head. "Three days is Earth time. On this transport it usually takes an hour or two to reach Earth, and we've already done several space-jumps since we took off."

I nodded, understanding. I looked back at Luti and Bodi, who were staring at me with worry. Luti put a hand on my shoulder. "Just be safe on the planet, dear," she whispered. "The natives can be very violent and very reckless." Bodi wrapped her arms around me.

"If you see my mother, tell her hi for me," the young girl muttered into my thick blonde hair. I nodded. "I'll see you in six months Earth time," I said, bidding them farewell. Then I followed the man out of the dining hall and back to the exit/entrance area.

"In about five minutes we will have landed in North Carolina and you will begin your mission," he said firmly. "Yes," I replied. I began to go through my possessions bag, reorganizing the few things I had on me. Finally the man said, "It is time, Dyakuscha."

The landing gear extended as we gently touched down on Earth, and the door opened. What I saw before me took my breath away. I know I've seen pictures of Earth before, but that cannot tell you what is like to breathe their air, walk on their grass and physically stare at the monuments of their honored people.

I had just stepped off the bridgeway when Luti and Bodi appeared at the open entrance, waving. Of course, the entire ship was invisible, and we were behind a large steel wall, so no one noticed. Bodi yelled over the wind, "Good luck, Dyakuscha! Have fun on my planet!"

Luti was about to say something, but the bridgeway closed before the words left her mouth. The transport pulled in its landing gear and lifted into the air, wind blowing all around it. It heated up its engine before shooting off into the sky. I took a deep breath and turned around.

I was on my own, now. Luckily I had enough of the Earth dollars to get me a night at a hotel. "Tomorrow I shall begin my mission. But now, I need to rest." So I walked up the stairs and down a hallway before coming into my room. When I turned the light on, everything was perfectly clean.

The beds had been made, everything was polished and dusted, and there was some of the hotel food in the freezer. "This will do for now," I said, before pulling on more comfortable clothes for night and slipping under the sheets of the bed. "Hmm," I whispered to myself. "These sheets are gold, an interesting color."

Then I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the sun was shining right in my eyes. At least, they would be if the shades were open. I got out of bed and went into the food area, opening the freezer to grab a jar of cold cream. "I believe the natives here would call it ice cream," I said to myself, before taking the lid off and eating it.

Once I had fed myself, remade the bed and fixed up my hair, teeth and clothes, I was ready to go. "Okay, Dyakuscha. First thing, you need a new name if you want to blend in. Hmm…what does Dyakuscha translate into in the Earth language?" Then it came to me, from an old Earth lesson I had years ago.

"Of course," I said. "It means Diamond. So that shall be my name until I leave for Djimi." Then I continued out the door, remembering to secure the handle with the card I had received last night. When I had exited the building, the first thing I encountered was a thief running with a bag full of stolen jewels.

He ran right past me, never even bothering to look behind him. I began to chase after him. He didn't notice me coming up behind him until it was too late. I grabbed him, slamming his head into a post and knocking him unconscious. I tied his hands to the post, using some of the special, unbreakable rope I had brought with me.

The law enforcers showed up pretty quickly, but I had already taken off. I didn't want to be noticed, especially by law enforcers. After a while of running, I dashed around a corner into an alleyway. I thought I was safe, at first. But a low scraping sound coming from the end of the alley had me really nervous.

"Yo, girl," a deep voice said from the darkness. "Come here." I replied, "Or what?" The voice didn't respond, but a second later a brown hand wrapped around my mouth and another hand pulled my hands together, holding them that way so I couldn't move.

"Hey, Joe, take her belt off," the deep voice ordered. A minute later a pure white hand reached around and yanked my belt off. "We ain't gonna hurt you girl, we just want your money. So hand it over or Joe there will beat you." Apparently I was too slow to respond, because a second later my belt lashed out across my forehead.

"Maybe beating doesn't work on a little girl like you…" the voice muttered. "Take her pants off, and her underwear." Now I knew I was in serious trouble. So I bit my captor's hand and he let go, shrieking in pain. Then I flipped my other captor over my head and he slammed into the ground.

I ran past the pale man, snatching my belt along the way. They shouted and began to chase after me, but I ignored them. I knew this was my lucky day to have a good report. Turns out the natives are a lot different from us than we thought. On Djimi, we don't beat or capture people for their worth. We don't steal because we don't have anything. If we don't have something, we work for it.


End file.
